US judge in Microsoft antitrust case dies at 76

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Thomas Penfield Jackson, who as a federal judge in Washington presided over a Microsoft antitrust case and declared the software company a monopoly, has died.

The death was confirmed Sunday by Jackson's wife, Patricia. She says her husband died of cancer at the couple's home in Compton, Md. He was 76.

Jackson presided over a closely watched antitrust trial that resulted in his 2000 order that Microsoft be broken into two companies. An appeals court reversed the breakup order and appointed a different judge to determine a new punishment.

Jackson also presided over the drug possession trial of then-District of Columbia Mayor Marion Barry. Barry unsuccessfully appealed his six-month sentence, arguing that Jackson had shown bias in comments made to a Harvard University audience after his trial.